Hand Float for Spreading Concrete

ABSTRACT

A hand concrete float is formed with a plastic base member affixed by fasteners to an arched handle. The base member includes a support portion and a working portion. The support portion has the arched handle connected to the upper surface thereof, while the working portion is integrally formed with the support portion on the bottom surface thereof. The working portion is formed with a chamfer extending around the perimeter of the working portion to make the working portion smaller that the support portion. The working portion is also formed with grooves that crisscross to form diamond-shaped landings. The grooves have a width sufficient to allow concrete to accumulate within the grooves to season the hand concrete float before operative use. The concrete filled grooves provide a rough effective working surface that has a long operative life with the weight thereof commensurate with conventional hand concrete floats.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims domestic priority on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/473,616, filed on Mar. 20, 2017, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a hand tool for spreading freshly poured concrete, and, more particularly, to a hand float that is formed from a clear plastic material that incorporates grooves in the bottom surface thereof to form a diamond pattern to rub over the top surface of the concrete to create a smooth surface thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hand floats are utilized by concrete workers to smooth the top surface of the freshly poured concrete. Conventional hand floats for concrete are manufactured from wood and, although they work well to smooth the surface of freshly poured concrete, the wooden hand floats do not last long. Other forms of hand floats have been proposed over the years, including a metal float, but even an aluminum hand float is significantly heavier than the conventional wooden hand float, which would make the use of the metal hand float burdensome as the use thereof would cause fatigue.

In U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,500, granted on Jul. 14, 1964, to Anthony Pilla, a diamond pattern hand float was disclosed. The Pilla hand float was manufactured from a hard acrylic material, such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and formed with a plurality of crossed grooves on the bottom surface thereof that form a pattern of diamond-shaped landings, or working elements (11), between the grooves. The acrylic material was attached to a handle to create the hand float. The grooves are defined as having a width of between ⅛ and ¼ of an inch and extend in depth from ⅓ to ¼ inch into a base member that is ½ inch in thickness. Pilla defines these grooves or depressions as having a sharp edge that is necessary to enhance performance of the float.

Other hand tools incorporate the diamond shaped pattern on the working surface of the hand tool, including the concrete working tool disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,709, granted to James R. Lewis on Mar. 8, 1983, wherein the hand tool is formed of a mesh material and is supported by a metal frame that extends around the periphery of the hand tool. The purpose of this hand tool is to tamp the surface of the freshly poured concrete to bring the “cream” to the surface. Also, a design patent was issued to Applicant for a configuration of a concrete finishing float similar to the hand float of the instant invention. This design patent was granted on Apr. 28, 2015, as U.S. Pat. No. D727,705.

The configurations of the hand concrete float disclosed in the Pilla patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,500) and in Applicant's design patent (U.S. Pat. No. D727,705) do not provide optimum performance in smoothing the top surface of freshly poured concrete, while providing an effective, long lasting hand tool that can be utilized in a repeated effective manner. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved hand concrete float that would provide better performance than has been known in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art by providing a hand concrete float formed from a translucent plastic material with a plurality of grooves formed into the working surface to create diamond-shaped landings.

It is another object of this invention to provide a plastic hand concrete float that has the same approximate weight as a conventional wooden hand concrete float.

It is a feature of this invention that the hand concrete float can be formed from a translucentplastic material

It is an advantage of this invention that the operator can see through the translucent plastic hand concrete float.

It is another feature of this invention that the base member of the plastic hand concrete float includes a support portion and a working portion

It is still another feature of this invention that the working portion of the base members formed with a chamfer around the perimeter.

It is another advantage of this invention that that working portion is smaller than the support portion of the base member.

It is yet another feature of this invention that the working portion is formed with grooves that crisscross to form diamond-shaped landings.

It is still another advantage of this invention that the grooves in the working portion of the base member are larger enough to fill with concrete to season the hand concrete float for subsequent usage on freshly poured concrete surfaces.

It is yet another advantage of this invention that the seasoned working portion of the hand concrete float provides a longer operative life than is known with conventional hand concrete floats.

It is still another feature of this invention that the grooves are cut into the base member into the working surface at a distance that is less than half of the thickness of the base member.

It is still another advantage of this invention that the hand concrete float will retain the working surface in a planar configuration for effective operation of the hand concrete float.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a hand concrete float having a configuration for the working portion with wide grooves forming diamond-shaped landings will retain concrete within the grooves to season the concrete float provide a rough effective working surface for working freshly poured concrete surfaces.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a plastic hand concrete float formed with diamond-shaped landings on the working surface that is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use.

These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a hand concrete float that is formed with a plastic base member affixed by fasteners to an arched handle. The base member includes a support portion and a working portion. The support portion has the arched handle connected to the upper surface thereof, while the working portion is integrally formed with the support portion on the bottom surface thereof. The working portion is formed with a chamfer extending around the perimeter of the working portion to make the working portion smaller that the support portion. The working portion is also formed with grooves that crisscross to form diamond-shaped landings. The grooves have a width sufficient to allow concrete to accumulate within the grooves to season the hand concrete float before operative use. The concrete filled grooves provide a rough effective working surface that has a long operative life with the weight thereof commensurate with conventional hand concrete floats.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages of this invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a hand concrete float incorporating the principles of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the hand concrete float shown in FIG. 1, the handle being shown in phantom for purposes of clarity; and

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the hand concrete float shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, a hand concrete float incorporating the principles of the instant invention can best be seen. The hand concrete float 10 is manufactured from a planar base member 12 and a handle 18 affixed to the base member 12 through fasteners 19. Preferably, the planar base member 12 is formed from a durable plastic material, such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or a polyvinylchloride (PVC). The plastic material is preferably translucent, but can be opaque as the ability to see through the base member 12 is not a factor in the performance of the hand concrete float 10. The use of the above plastic materials provides a hand concrete float 10 that has the same general weight and feel of a conventional wooden float.

Preferably the base member 12 is approximately ½ inch thick and is formed with a plurality of grooves 15 in the bottom surface thereof. The base member 12 can be divided into a support portion 13 and a working portion 14 into which the grooves 15 are formed. The support portion 13 comprises at least half the thickness of the base member 12, and preferably 5/16 of an inch, as is represented by the dimension b in FIG. 1, out of the overall ½ inch thick base member 10, as is represented by the dimension a in FIG. 1. Thus, the working portion 14, represented by the dimension c in FIG. 1 is preferably about 3/16 of an inch thick.

The grooves 15 are cut, or formed during the manufacturing process, into the working portion 14 to define the diamond-shaped landings 16 between the grooves 15. Preferably, the sides of the landings 16 are ¾ to one inch long to provide larger landing 16 that have been previously known in the art. Accordingly, the working portion 14 has fewer grooves 15 than have been previously known in the art, with the grooves 15 having a width of ⅛ to ¼ inch and a depth that extends through the working portion 14.

The handle 18 can be formed of wood, or any other suitable material, and simply fastened to the base member 12 by a pair of fasteners 19 that are countersunk through the working portion 14 into the support portion 13 to extend upwardly through the support portion 13 and into engagement with the handle 18. The countersunk holes 17 in the working portion 14 are left open for purposes to be explained in greater detail below. The working portion 14 is chamfered entirely around the perimeter thereof to provide a less aggressive edge to the hand concrete float 10. The chamfer 20 is preferably at approximately 45 degrees, measured from the vertical line of the edge of the support portion 13, but could vary between 40 and 50 degrees. The chamfer 20 creates a working surface at the bottom of the base member 12 that is smaller in size than the support portion 13.

In operation, the hand concrete float 10 needs to be seasoned before utilization to smooth freshly poured concrete. To season the concrete float 10, the working portion 14 is smeared with fresh cement to fill the grooves 15 with cement, which is allowed to harden before utilization of the concrete float 10. In addition, the countersunk holes 17 will also fill with cement. Therefore, the landings 16 will preferably be on the same plane as the filled grooves 15, thus presenting to the surface of the freshly poured concrete a planar surface similar to the planar wooden working surface of the conventional wood hand concrete float by which the operator can work the surface of the concrete.

The cutting of the grooves 15 into the bottom surface of the wearing portion 14, and the filling of those grooves 15 with cement, creates a rough texture on the bottom surface of the wearing portion 14. This rough texture enables the operator to move concrete along the top surface of the freshly poured concrete to fill in holes on the surface of the concrete in a fast and efficient manner, which cannot be matched by the conventional hand floats having a smooth bottom surface. Accordingly, the use of the hand concrete float incorporating the principles of the instant invention causes less fatigue and saves tiredness in the operator's hands, at least partly because the operator does not have to rub the surface of the concrete as hard as with conventional tools.

In addition, the filling of the grooves 15 with cement provides a wear surface at the bottom of the working portion 14 that provides a significantly longer operative life for the hand concrete float as the cement in the grooves must wear down with the plastic material forming the landings 16. Ultimately, the working portion 14 will wear down almost to the support portion 13 at which point the cement will not remain within the shallow grooves 15 and the hand concrete float 10 would need to be replaced. With the grooves being cut into the base member 12 at a depth less than half way through the base member, the hand concrete float 10 remains strong, does not break, and remains planar in configuration.

It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. 

1. A hand concrete float for smoothing a horizontal surface of freshly poured concrete, comprising: a base member having an upper support portion and a lower working portion, said support portion having a thickness dimension of no less than one-half of a corresponding thickness dimension of said base member; a plurality of grooves formed into said working portion to said support portion, said grooves extending in opposing directions to form a series of diamond-shaped landings between intersecting grooves; and a chamfer extending around a perimeter of said working portion to create a working surface that is smaller than said support portion.
 2. The hand concrete float of claim 1 wherein said grooves are filled with cement left to harden before being placed into use.
 3. The hand concrete float of claim 2 wherein said landings have a length dimension on each side thereof between 0.75 and 1.0 inches.
 4. The hand concrete float of claim 2 further comprising a handle affixed to said base member with fasteners.
 5. The hand concrete float of claim 4 wherein said fasteners are countersunk through said working portion into said support portion, leaving a hole that is filled with cement allowed to harden.
 6. The hand concrete float of claim 5 wherein said hardened cement in said grooves and countersink hole forms a plane in common with said landings.
 7. A hand concrete float for smoothing freshly poured concrete surfaces, comprising: a base member having an upper support portion and a lower working portion, said support portion having a thickness dimension greater than a corresponding thickness dimension of said working portion; a plurality of grooves formed into said working portion to said support portion, said grooves extending in opposing directions to form a series of diamond-shaped landings between intersecting grooves, said grooves having a width dimension that is sufficiently large to fill with concrete which will harden in the grooves to provide a seasoned rough working surface on said working portion; a chamfer extending around a perimeter of said working portion to create a working surface that is smaller than said support portion; and a handle affixed to said support surface.
 8. The hand concrete float of claim 7 wherein said grooves have a width of ⅛ to ¼ of an inch.
 9. The hand concrete float of claim 8 wherein said landings have a length dimension on each side thereof between 0.75 and 1.0 inches.
 10. The hand concrete float of claim 7 wherein said handle is affixed to said support portion of said base member with fasteners.
 11. The hand concrete float of claim 10 wherein said fasteners are countersunk through said working portion into said support portion, leaving a hole that is filled with cement with said grooves and allowed to harden.
 12. The hand concrete float of claim 11 wherein said hardened cement in said grooves and countersink hole forms a plane in common with said landings.
 13. (canceled)
 14. A hand concrete float for smoothing freshly poured concrete surfaces, comprising: a base member having an upper support portion and an integrally formed lower working portion, said support portion having a thickness dimension greater than a corresponding thickness dimension of said working portion; a plurality of grooves formed into said working portion to said support portion, said grooves extending in opposing directions to form a series of diamond-shaped landings between intersecting grooves, said grooves having a width dimension greater than 0.125 inches to provide sufficient size in said grooves to fill said grooves with concrete which will harden in the grooves to provide a seasoned rough working surface on said working portion, each said landing having a length dimension greater than 0.75 inches; a chamfer extending around a perimeter of said working portion to create a working surface that is smaller than said support portion; and a handle affixed to said support surface by fasteners extending through said base member and being countersunk into said working portion.
 15. The hand concrete float of claim 14 wherein said grooves have a width of ⅛ to ¼ of an inch.
 16. The hand concrete float of claim 15 wherein said landings have a length dimension on each side thereof between 0.75 and 1.0 inches.
 17. The hand concrete float of claim 16 wherein said hardened cement in said grooves and countersink holes in said working portion of said base member forms a plane in common with said landings. 